Eight and a half reasons NOT to be a vegetarian. Part 1

Tatiana Ressina

The dispute between vegetarians and meat eaters continues. Neither side is willing to give up an inch of its table. Already at the very end of the discussion, after the material "Vegetarianism is not a lifestyle, but a mistake of nature", I was asked to comment on "10 reasons to be a vegetarian". No problem – let's figure it out.

In the preamble to the material, compiled based on the research of Western experts, it was said that "there are a hundred good reasons to switch to vegetarianism, but we will give 10 main ones." I believe that out of a hundred, the most weighty and vivid arguments were chosen, which should not only explain, but also prove that meat products should be completely replaced with vegetable ones – in accordance with the stated topic in the title. I will say right away that, in my opinion, only one and a half "reasons" can be considered such arguments. At number 10, I fully support it. I can only partially agree with reason number 9. That's why I called her a half. Nevertheless, I am ready to analyze the remaining 8 arguments, although they are not such in fact.

Life expectancy increases

According to a study by Loma Linda University, vegetarians live seven years longer, and vegans live 15 years longer than those who consume meat. This study was supported by the Chinese Health Project, the largest study on diet. According to this study, Chinese people who consumed minimal amounts of fat and food of animal origin had a low risk of developing cancer, heart attack and other diseases.

Another proof is a British study, according to which vegetarians have a 40 percent lower risk of dying from cancer and a 20 percent lower chance of dying from other diseases.

I have already written about this, but I will repeat. In the Vilcabamba Valley, which is one of the oases of longevity, vegetables and fruits are mainly eaten. Long-lived Abkhazians eat meat. Hungarian elders prefer to be vegetarians. Azerbaijani centenarians love meat, and fat. The long-livers of the northern tundra eat deer fat in huge quantities. And they all live for more than 100 years. Gerontologists have long ago proved that there is no connection between diet and life expectancy.

In addition, in general, longevity in the human population is constantly growing. During European antiquity, people lived on average 20-30 years; in the 18th century – 28.5 years, in the 19th century – more than 40, now Europe lives on average 80 years. That is, since ancient times, life expectancy has increased by 60 years. Is this the merit of vegetarians only? Life expectancy is a broad concept, it includes not only the diet, but also the standard of living, living conditions, hygienic conditions, the level of medicine, scientific and technological progress and much more. It is simply impossible to isolate any one reason. The contribution of vegetarians in life expectancy, I'm afraid, will be small, if only because it is still a small layer in the total human mass. And to assert the longevity of vegetarians against the background of universal life expectancy, from the point of view of scientific research, to put it mildly, is incorrect. And, by the way, there are other imported studies claiming diametrically opposite provisions on vegetarianism. So the English researchers Appleby, Key and colleagues found out that eating plant foods does not reduce the risk of cancer, as there is no difference in mortality between vegetarians and meat eaters.

Regarding the incidence, foreign researchers are also not behaving very nicely. If a person is put on one meat, he, at least, will have gout, and maybe even worse – pancreatitis. Yes, it is. But if the same person is forced to eat only vegetables, then over time he will have dystrophy (and in vegetarian children it appears almost immediately), problems with the immune system begin (even a primitive cold is much harder). Yes, there is less cholesterol in the blood of a vegetarian, but this does not solve cardiac problems, because there is atrophy of the heart muscle. And diseases associated with iodine deficiency and iron deficiency are also detected.

The argument "Life expectancy increases" can be safely considered incorrect and unfounded.

2. The condition of the gastrointestinal tract improves

Vegetables are an excellent source of fiber, which is needed for the evacuation function of the intestine (promotion of feces). Meat does not contain fiber. According to a study conducted at Harvard and Brigham Women's Hospital, people who consume high-fiber foods are 42 percent less likely to develop diverticulosis. People whose diet included vegetables usually suffered less from constipation, hemorrhoids and irritable bowel syndrome.

Indeed, there is no fiber in meat, or as they used to call it – "dietary fiber", and now they say – "ballast substances", because fiber alone is not enough. Vegetable food contains a whole complex of fiber, cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and pectin substances that really clean the intestines wonderfully. But in vegetables, by the way, the cat didn't cry enough ballast substances. Let's see: cucumbers (in g per 100 g of product) – 0.9; tomatoes – 1.3; lettuce – 1.8; potatoes – 1.9; carrots – 2.9; the leader in the vegetable group is red beans – 8.3 (although these are no longer vegetables, but legumes).

For normal utilization of intestinal contents, 25-30 g of ballast substances are required, and some experts believe that it would be better to have 35-40 g per day. That is, to get 30 g of ballast substances, you will have to eat 3 kg of cucumbers, 2 kg of potatoes, 1 kg of carrots or 400 g of beans. And you can do otherwise – eat 200 g of rye bread. Because it's not really vegetables that are rich in ballast substances, but cereals. Let's compare them with vegetables: rye-wheat bread – 6.0; rye bread from whole grains – 8.9; oat flakes – 9.5; crackers – 5.2; rye bread, which I have already mentioned, – 14.1; even in boiled noodles more than in vegetables – 4.4 (!), and the leader of this group – wheat bran, they contain almost 2 daily norms of ballast substances – 49.3 g.

However, the argument "The gastrointestinal tract is improving" is untenable for another reason: well, what prevents you from eating 100 g of meat, 500 g of vegetables, 200 g of bread (daily allowance) and 2 tablespoons of wheat bran? All these components of the diet do not exclude each other, but only complement each other successfully. And the intestines will work like clockwork for everyone: both meat eaters and vegetarians.

3. The heart is strengthened

Fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants that protect the heart and arteries. The cholesterol level of vegetarians is 14 percent lower than that of meat eaters.

There is also no answer in this statement – why should I give up meat? Make a vegetable salad of sweet pepper, lettuce, broccoli, parsley, spinach and pour it with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (especially useful if wheat germ oil is added to it). Eat this salad with meat – and a daily diet of antioxidants will be in your body.

In general, this argument also does not prove that meat should be abandoned.

4. The ability to avoid toxic chemicals

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 95 percent of pesticide residues enter our bodies with meat, fish and dairy products. In particular, fish contains carcinogens and heavy metals (mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium), which cannot be removed by heat treatment.

And who said that carcinogens are found only in meat and fish? Well, let's give up these products and switch to vegetables. And what will we get? The same carcinogens, but already from nitrates. By the way, the leaders in the accumulation of nitrates are oranges, lettuce, apples, pears, soybeans, beans, carrots, corn, grapes, table beets, turnips, melon, celery, black radish.

According to the American Academy of Sciences (by the way!) over the past 70 years, about 1,000,000 Americans have become victims of malignant neoplasms due to carcinogenic nitrites and nitrosamines formed from nitrates entering the human body from vegetables. And they are the first to get to our table from fields and greenhouses. If you follow this logic, you will have to give up food altogether, since any can be fraught with potential danger.

The argument "The possibility of avoiding toxic chemicals" is initially incorrect.

5. Spring "cleaning"

Fruit and vegetable juices contain phytochemicals necessary for natural detoxification. Giving up meat helps us free the body from toxins (pesticides, preservatives) that overload our system and cause diseases.

Milk is also a wonderful natural detoxifier. Juices are also useful to drink at any time of the year. No one has ever argued with this. And winter excess accumulated weight can be removed by diet – reduce the amount of carbohydrates and increase the amount of vegetables. We talked about the liberation of the body from toxins above – diseases can be obtained from any low-quality food: both from plant and animal.

The end is in the article Eight and a half reasons NOT to be a vegetarian. Part 2

Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru 26.02.2008